What if she got there first?
by fanatic218
Summary: Set during 100. What if Emily got to Foyet before Hotch did? What will it be like for them afterwards? Please read and review- first fanfiction story!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N~ Hey guys! I set this during episode 100 when I thought, what would have happened if Emily got to the house before Hotch? This is my first fanfiction story so tell me what you think. Please review- I want to hear your comments!_

"Drop the gun Foyet," I said in a seemingly flat voice. I tried not to show the fear that I felt, but I knew my voice was wavering.

"Hello Agent Prentiss. You came just in time for the show. I hope your listening Agent Hotchner. Now you get to listen to Emily Prentiss die too." I stepped forward, cocking my raised gun. I didn't have a clear shot. He was using Haley as a shield as he pressed the gun against her head. I saw a tear fall silently down her cheek.

"It's over Foyet. There is no way out of this for you." I eyed the cell phone that once belonged to the U.S. Marshall open on the small table next to where they stood.

"Prentiss! What is going on? I will be there soon. Are Jack and Haley okay?" Hotch's voice sounded distant over the phone, but I could tell he was screaming. Foyet started laughing.

"Well, _Hotch_, they are okay. For now. Thank you, Agent Prentiss for making this more exciting for us." I saw that my presence had distracted him a bit from Haley. Jack wasn't anywhere I could see. He must of gone to a special hiding place when Hotch to him to help him with the case. It was for the best – she didn't know how this was going to end, but knew it was something a four year old boy should not see.

"Aaron?" Another tear escaped Haley's eye and rolled down her cheek. I tried not to look at her, only Foyet to monitor his every move.

"Haley hold on. I'm almost there. Prentiss what's happening?" Hotch's voice was stressed and full of fear. It was something she had never heard before and hoped never to hear again.

"Hotch he's got a gun. Jack isn't here but he's got -" I was cut off by Foyet screaming.

"It doesn't matter! You won't get here in time. I'm going to kill your wife, and then I'm going to kill your son. Can you live with that Agent Hotchner? All I want is to see the look on you face when you see their lifeless bodies on the floor and know that it's all your fault -"

"Hotch none of this is your fau-" He cut her off again.

"And then I'm going to kill your agent. You have a direct line of sight from your office to her desk don't you? How do you think it's going to feel looking down at that empty desk and knowing that it's your fault? You know it is too, don't you? You know that they are all going to die, and that you will be too late, and that you will never see your son alive again. So say goodbye to Haley and Emily. I'll be saving Jack for last."

Three shot ran out, and then silence throughout the house. The only noise was Hotch screaming, still on the other end of the line.

Rossi, Morgan, JJ, and Reid stood in shock as if time stopped when they heard the shots over the line. Then time suddenly started again as JJ started screaming for her best friend. Morgan punched the steering wheel and tightened his grip, anger and emotional pain taking over his body, causing him to shake violently. Reid felt tears start to swell up in his eyes knowing that he would never again see the woman who he looked up to as an older sister smile. Rossi, trying to be strong for the three other agents in the car and for Hotch suppressed every feeling with all the control in his body. They were too late.

_A/N~ Okay sorry for the cliff hanger and shortness! Chapter 2 will be up soon and I promise it will be longer. Hope you like it so far. PLEASE REVIEW!!!_


	2. Chapter 2

3 DAYS PRIOR

This is what I had been dreading. The point where we were just a regular couple of friends having a girl's night out at Garcia's house. Not that I was dreading being with my two best friends, it was that I was dreading the conversation that friends had with each other which was bound to come up before the night way over. And the said conversation had just stated.

"So you want to tell us what the hell is going on with you and certain former unit chief?" the ever blunt Garcia asked taking another sip of her drink. I saw JJ smirk from the corner of my eye. I knew this would only confirm their suspicions, but I decided to play dumb anyway.

"I don't understand what you are getting at Penelope Garcia. Nothing is going on between Hotch and I." Both JJ and Garcia rolled their eyes at the same time.

"Come on Em! We all see the way you look at him. And I happen to know for a fact that you both are arriving and leaving together in the same car. So you are going to spill your guts over what is going on between you and Hotch because no one looks at someone the way you look at him and have nothing going on." JJ's little spiel started off innocent enough, but started getting angry as she continued on. Sometimes I wonder if she still has those pregnancy hormones…

"Oh yeah sister! Don't try to deny it 'cause we ALL see it. Morgan and Rossi included. Even Reid! And you know how oblivious he is! And from what I hear, you almost passed out when he tackled that UNSUB by himself a few weeks ago. You've got MAJOR feelings for the ex-boss-man but you are way too stubborn to admit it. So we are going to help you out," Garcia said overfilling Emily's wine glass to the brim. Wow – even Reid noticed? She wasn't as good at the concealing feelings as she thought. Not when those feelings were about him anyways. I looked down to the floor and bit my lip. I wanted to tell them the truth, they were my best friends after all, but that would mean admitting them to myself first.

"You know whatever you tell us stays between us and us only right?" JJ reassured me softly. Okay I need to get this off my chest.

"Okay so I have been a bit more attentive to Hotch lately." Garcia lifted a single eyebrow at 'a bit'. "Okay fine, a lot more attentive. I guess I stated to feel something for him after New York, but never thought anything of it. I mean it wasn't anything. At first. And then I when I stayed a little late in the office, he and I would talk a bit. He would tell me about Jack sometimes, but we mostly talked about work." I saw JJ roll her eyes when I said we talked about work.

"What? Did you expect Hotch and I to be talking about romantic mush and be laughing together? This is Hotch we're talking about!"

"No, I was just not surprised that two of the biggest workaholics of all time were talking about work."

"Very funny. Anyways, one night, after a really tough case, he asked if I wanted to get coffee with him, and naturally I said yes. We were talking about work again when his phone started ringing. He left to take the call, but when he came back, he looked really dejected. I asked him what was wrong, and at first he didn't respond. But then he told me that Haley's parents were coming in town the next night, and she wanted Jack to stay with her for the weekend, even though it as his weekend. He said he couldn't deny Jack of being with his only grandparents, but was pretty upset that he wouldn't get to see him. We talked some more, this time not about work. He really let his guard down and we talked for over an hour. I was really surprised that when we left, he thanked me for listening to him, that he didn't open up like that that often, but said he was happy that he got to talk about it. Then – and you will never believe this – he smiled at me. Both dimples and everything. And then I was a goner."

Garcia's jaw dropped a little. JJ was smiling so big and bouncing up and down in her seat like a giddy preschooler. I gave them a shy smile before going on.

"But then the next day he acted like nothing had happened. He was just the distant, emotionless boss that he was before the coffee night. I was a little dejected for a while, but tried to my usual self around him, but it was hard." Garcia reached across and put her hand on my knee giving me a sympathetic look while JJ put hers on my shoulder. Wow I sounded depressed.

"And then Foyet happened." I shuttered thinking about the day I walked into his apartment and saw all that blood. "When he wasn't answering his cell, I knew something was wrong, and I started to get really worried. That's probably when Reid caught on. I was pacing and nearly driving myself crazy each time I got voicemail. Then when I went to his apartment…" I trailed off not knowing how to formulate words.

The memory came crashing back into my mind at full force, making me cringe. I remembered holding back tears when I saw the bloodstain and using all my energy to regain enough control to call Garcia.

Garcia moved over and sat next to me with JJ on my other side. They rubbed my back and tried giving me reassurance that everything was ok. "What happened next?" asked JJ.

I paused before continuing. "At the hospital, I almost lost it. Seeing him lying there, so defenseless, so much in pain, it was excruciating. I sat there next to him until you guys showed up. He almost woke up once, and by the groan he made, I knew the pain had to be unbearable. Foyet stabbed him nine times. Nine times! The nurse came in once while I was sitting there to clean and redress the wounds. She didn't ask me to leave, and I didn't. I couldn't leave him by himself in that room, even if he didn't know I was there. I wanted to take all the pain away from him. That's when I realized that I love him." My voice was just barely an audible whisper.

JJ grabbed my hand and squeezed it. Garcia put her arm around me and we sat in silence for a few minutes as I tried to hold back every emotion that I had felt over the past year.

Then I started laughing. "Wow I really know how to kill a mood don't I?" I laughed again. They weren't profilers, but they understood that I wanted to move onto another subject. So Reid's outrageous hair became the next topic of discussion for the night before we all hugged each other good night.

"Thanks guys. I really needed to do that," I said with a small smile.

"Anytime girlie! We are here for you – always!" I hugged Garcia again and thanked her before hugging JJ. "We love you so much Em! This, some way or another will work out in the end. You deserve it – both of you do!"

"You should also know that the former-boss-man was totally ogling your scrupulous behind last Friday when you wore those jeans for casual day!" Garcia said quickly before hurryingly shutting the door on a hysterical JJ and me.

BACK AT THE HOTCHNER HOUSE

The three shots I fired from my gun all hit him squarely in the chest, sending him backwards. I had been watching his movements as he talked to Hotch over the phone. As he got more into telling him about how he was going to kill us, he had slowly backed away from Haley enough that I now that the shot. Haley, during the process, had remained absolutely still. She looked frozen. Finally after a few seconds, I motioned for her to take the phone and get out of the room.

I could hear Hotch screaming our names over and over, his voice getting thicker and thicker, as if he was crying. She held the phone against her face, but was still too shocked to say anything. "Get Jack and get out of here. Go outside – Hotch will be here soon."

"Is that you Emily? Emily? Say something, someone, please!" My heart stopped for a second when he used my first name. He never called me Emily. His voice became less audible as Haley left the room and ran Jack. "Aaron?" she breathed. "Haley!"

I looked back down at Foyet. Something wasn't right. There wasn't any blood. Pointing my gun at him again, I slowly walked over to him. Kicking his gun out of the way, I put my fingers down on his neck to check is pulse. That's when I noticed the bullet proof vest.

Things seemed to go in slow motion. His right arm grabbed my wrist, pushing it out to the side pointing my gun away from him. His other arm knocked me back onto the ground. Thankfully, all the trips to the gym with Morgan had not been in vain. I pulled myself up and avoided the punch he threw at my face. I kicked him back against the wall and made a mad dash for my gun.

We hadn't given him enough credit. George Foyet was by no means a weak man. He lunged at me, knocking me to the ground again. We rolled around, each fighting for control and our lives. His elbow hit me in the stomach, but I retaliated with a blow to the noise. We took turns beating each other for what seemed like eternity before I heard a car pull up to the house.

The window was rolled down, allowing us to hear Hotch run to Haley and Jack. "DADDDYYY!!!!!" "Jack! Haley! Oh my God you guys are okay! Are you alright? Thank God." I knew was he probably hugging his son and ex-wife, and thought it stupid of me to think that he could care if I was there or not. I was almost glad I wasn't. It was part of a family moment that I did not belong to. My heart broke a little when I heard how labored his breath was. He had definitely been crying. "Where is Emily?"

"Well it looks like Captain America may have made it in time to save the family, but I still kill you." The look in his eyes, a look of pure bloodlust and hunger that could only be satisfied by murder, took over. I gasped as he pulled put a knife that was tapped around his ankle. I had no time to react before he plunged the knife into my stomach. I let out a scream before feeling my body go limp. The last thing I saw was the eyes of a psychotic killer and his devilish grin before everything went black.

(HPOV)

I couldn't breathe. They were gone. Three gunshots, three victims. My son. My ex-wife. My Emily. My Emily? Oh well it didn't matter anymore. He wouldn't see any of them again. I will never see my son run to me and yell daddy with that smile that made thoughts any horrible case brought vanish again. I will never see Haley, the woman who I had spent twenty years of my life with and had a son with, again. And I will never see Emily, the only person who I could say I could trust completely with not only my life in the field, but my life when the day was over. Emily, the person who could brighten up any room, remove any tension or awkwardness, be sympathetic without pitying. The person who made me remember why we do what we do by looking at everything optimistically. I won't ever see her again either.

I hung my head and cried. Cried for the loss of the three people who meant the world to me. I knew the team would be on the other end of the line, listening to everything. I knew they would hear my cries but I didn't care. I was so close. I could have gotten there in time, but I didn't. And now they were all dead.

"Get Jack and get out of here. Go outside – Hotch will be here soon." Emily? Was that her voice? How was that possible? She was just…

"Is that you Emily? Emily? Say something, someone, please!" It was really only five seconds until I heard an answer, but they were the most agonizing five seconds of my life. Where they still alive? Where they okay? Where was Foyet?

"Aaron?" "Haley!" Oh my god Haley was still alive. She didn't sound hurt, just scared, but not like before. She didn't feel like she was in danger anymore.

"Oh my god Aaron! It's over. It's over." She was really crying now. I let out a sign of relief. "I am so close Haley! Get Jack – he's in my old office in the chest. That was our hiding spot. Get Jack and get outside. I'm pulling into the driveway."

I jumped out of the car, running towards my son, dropping to my knees as he ran into my arms. I still couldn't believe that they were alive and okay. "Jack! Haley! Oh my God you guys are okay! Are you alright? Thank God." I clutched Jack to my chest, and Haley dropped to knees as well. I put an arm around her too, and we just sat there for a minute crying and hugging each other. Finally another thought came into my mind. "Where's Emily?"

Before Haley had the chance to answer, Morgan pulled up with Dave, JJ, and Reid. They all ran out of the car and towards us. "Oh my god I am so glad you guys are okay! I cannot believe this is finally over!" exclaimed JJ with a huge smile on her face. Everyone looked genuinely happy that Haley and Jack were ok. "Where's Emily?" asked JJ, still wearing her huge smile.

I felt the blood drain from my face as I heard the bloodcurdling scream came from the window.

(JJPOV)

Just three days ago Garcia, Emily, and I were hanging out like a normal group of friends who didn't face the world's most prolific serial killers. They were the kind of friends you have 'til the end.

I just didn't know the end would be this soon.

I didn't care that the media would be here any moment to report George Foyet killing an FBI agent. I didn't try to wipe the tears from my eyes or fix my make-up. There was no way I could do the press conference. I just lost my best friend to a serial killer. Media liaison JJ can wait for grieving JJ.

But then I heard the faint voice on the other end. "Jack and get out of here. Go outside – Hotch will be here soon." She knew that voice! Emily was still alive! I started crying again, this time with joy. I tried to listen to the rest of the conversation between Hotch and Haley, not to invade on their privacy, but to hear Emily again.

"Oh my god Aaron! It's over. It's over." When I heard Haley say those words, a smile came on my lips. It was over.

I ran up to them when Morgan stopped the car. I was so glad to see Haley and Jack alive and ok, but more than anything I wanted to see Emily. "Oh my god I am so glad you guys are okay! I cannot believe this is finally over! Where's Emily?"

Then I heard the scream. And then everything went black.

_A/N~ Sorry for another cliff hanger! Thank you so much for your reviews! Chapter 3 should be up in the next week or two… Hope you like it!_


	3. Chapter 3

(HPOV)

At first I froze. Then the next thing I knew I was halfway up the stairs. That scream was the only thing that could have pulled me away from my son.

_Please be okay, please be okay._ But I knew she wasn't. A scream like that doesn't come to sudden stop. Her scream kept echoing in my mind. Something was wrong.

I knew the team, minus JJ, of course, who had literally passed out when she heard Emily scream, was right behind me. We were all frozen, but thankfully our agent reflexes kicked in and sent us up to the source of the scream.

_What if I'm too late?_ I suddenly felt my entire body fill with panic. No. I wasn't going to lose her. Not again.

I walked into the room. _Do not look at Emily. DO NOT look at Emily! You have to find Foyet first._ It was hard. I tried not to run to her when I saw her lying on the ground, but I did. She was lying there next to a smiling Foyet.

I pointed my gun at Foyet. I knew that he could see the raw emotion on my face. I was going to kill him. Emily was lying lifeless next to him and that sick bastard was laughing. I cocked my gun and he stopped laughing, but that horrible smile still remained on his face. "I told you that you would be too late, didn't I _Hotch?_ She's dead. And it's your fault. Tell me Agent Hotchner, how does it feel to know that you're the reason Emily Prentiss will never smile again?"

I almost lost it right there. I started shaking, but not with rage. I was breaking. Foyet had finally done it. I was broken, and I would never be fixed again. Because he was right – it was my fault.

"Not your fault -" a small, faint voice from the corner said before fading away. Emily? She was still alive?

I saw Foyet's eyes open wide and saw him lunge for Emily. Foyet didn't leave survivors. That's okay because just then I decided that I wouldn't either. Four gunshots ran almost simultaneously, all hitting him in the head with perfect precision. There was no doubt that he was dead.

I dropped my gun and ran to Emily. She was lying on her side facing away from us. When I rolled her over as carefully as I could, what I saw nearly made me scream. I felt a tear roll down my cheek. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the others react. Rossi's body was frozen, but his hands were shaking wildly. Morgan's who body was shaking, and he had to grip the wall to keep from falling when his knees buckled.

Reid's reaction was the hardest to watch. He collapsed on the floor, crying and whispering no over and over again. He loved Emily like a sister. After the Compound, they had gotten really close. She was looking after him, almost in a motherly way, and he loved her for that. Of course they were all family, but how Reid viewed Emily was a little different. She was his life-line.

"Emily? Emily? Come on Emily wake up. Open your eyes. Please. Please, please, please open your eyes. Stay with me Em. Come on," I tried to coax her awake. More tears fell down my face. She groaned. It was faint, but it was there. "Hotch…" She was alive!

How was she alive? The knife was still in her stomach. Blood was everywhere. There was so much blood…

"Emily! Hold on. You're going to be okay. Don't leave us Em. Stay awake for me. Please," I begged her. I heard the ambulance pull up in front of the house. I don't know who called it, but I was grateful to hear the techs yelling commands and running into the house.

Emily's eyes opened again. "Hotch…?" her voice was barely a whisper. "Yes Em?" "I need you know that this isn't your fault, okay? It's not your fault. Nothing you could have done could have prevented this from happening. Do you hear me?" Leave it to Emily to tell me in her dying breath to not blame myself. "Stay with me Emily."

"Something you gotta know Hotch…" her voice trailed off again, her eyes closing. "Emily! Emily, come on. Open your eyes! What do I have to know?" I heard my voice breaking, and my hands were shaking. This was it.

"Sir? You need to move," said the paramedic who seemed to be in-charge. I hurried to move out of the way so they could do their job.

I watched him lift Emily onto the board and hurry out the door into the ambulance. We all ran outside to see her being loaded. A younger paramedic came up to us. "We are going to rush her to Virginia General. She'll have to go into surgery. The blonde woman who fainted is okay now but we'll have them run checks when they get there to make sure. She's riding with Agent Prentiss. The rest of you can follow behind us if you would like." I nodded my head, not trusting my voice. "Thank you, sir. Please do whatever you can to save her." This came from Rossi. How was he not falling apart?

I was still standing there when the ambulance pulled away with Emily and JJ. I probably would have been standing there longer if Jack hadn't run into my legs. "Daddy? What happened to Miss Em'ly?" he said in a small, frightened voice. I had forgotten that he and Haley were still there. I picked Jack up and gave him a huge hug. I felt Haley's hand on my shoulder.

"Get in the car. I'll drive," she said, taking the keys that I had already pulled from my pocket and walking towards my car. "We'll meet you there Hotch," reassured Rossi. Really – how was he not falling apart? I nodded in response.

"Daddy why are so sad? Aren't you happy to see me? I'm happy to see you daddy. I missed you so much! Mommy and I went on an adventure!" Jack stopped talking and looked at me. "Daddy?" his little voice sounded strained. I knew I looked like hell. For all I know, the woman I have worked beside for three years just died in my arms.

"Jack, I am so happy to see you! You have no idea how much I missed you! I love you so much Jack!"

"If you're happy to see me why are you crying?" This time Haley and I both started crying. I remembered hearing the scream from the window, meaning that she had heard everything too. She also would have heard the gunshots and heard me telling Emily to stay awake. I didn't know all that had happened before I got there, but I knew that if it weren't for Emily, Haley and my son would be dead.

"Do you remember when I was at the hospital because I was sick?" Jack just nodded. Haley and I decided not to tell him that I was there because I was stabbed nine times by a serial killer. "I'm crying because the same man who hurt me hurt Miss Emily. And I don't know if she is going to be okay." This answer was enough for Jack. He didn't really understand that, but I was glad he didn't.

"Are you guys okay? I am so sorry you had to go through all of this. It was so close. I thought I lost you guys when I heard those first shots. I…" my voice hitched again and I sucked in a huge breath.

"Aaron we're okay. A little shook up but we will be okay. Jack wasn't in the room when it happened, but Agent Prentiss saved my life. He was going to kill me, but she got him. Aaron what happened after I left?" I knew she needed to know. Her face was filled with worry and dread.

"He had a vest on. He pretended to be dead until she came up to make sure he was dead. Then I'm guessing by the bruises all over him and Emily that they fought before he…" I sucked in another breath. "Before he stabbed her." I heard Haley take a sharp breath and her breathing was jagged when she let it out. A tear rolled down her face.

We rode the rest of the way to the hospital in silence. I wanted to be happy that I had my son back, but I found it hard to focus when I didn't know if Emily was okay. The front desk attendant pointed us to the ER waiting room where the rest of the team already was. Rossi was sitting there staring at his hands. Morgan was pacing up and down the length of the room. Reid and JJ wore similar expressions; eyes glazed over, blank stare at nothing. Reid looked like a statute, as JJ was rocking back and forth, hugging herself, trying to keep from falling apart.

Only Rossi and Morgan looked up as we walked in. Morgan then continued his pacing while Rossi got up and came over to us. "Rossi what -"

He cut me off. "She is still in surgery. The nurse came out a few minutes ago and said that they will be about another hour. There was a lot of damage, but I will talk to you about that later," he said eyeing Jack. He then looked up at Haley. "Haley I am so glad to see you and Jack safe. Thankfully no one else got hurt and you guys can get back to your lives again." Haley nodded as another tear fell. "Thank you Dave," she said hugging him.

Then Garcia quite literally ran into the waiting room, frantically screaming questions. Morgan walked up to her and pulled her into an embrace. She started crying against his shoulder, quickly turning into full blown sobs. It pained me to notice that Reid and JJ still had not moved from their dazed positions.

"Oh Haley! I'm sorry, you don't know me but I'm Penelope Garcia. I am so glad to hear that you and Jack are okay. Hi Jack! How are you doing buddy?" Garcia tried to smile, but tears were still streaming down her face. "I am good thank you Miss Garcia," Jack said in a sweet voice, making Garcia cry harder.

"Aaron I need to talk to you. Can you come with me for a minute?" He must have seen my dilemma. I wanted to know about Emily, but I didn't want to leave Haley and Jack. "Haley and Jack will be fine, Aaron. We need to talk." With that I stepped away from Haley's side and gave Jack one more hug before walking away with Dave.

"How bad is it Dave?" I asked the question but wasn't sure if I really wanted to know the answer. "They lost her twice in the ambulance on the way here. The first time for only ten seconds, the next for almost a minute." I cupped my hands over my face and ran a hand through my hair. They lost her? Panic rose within me, and I started to say something, but couldn't find the words. "JJ was right there with her, as you can tell by her reaction that it was close. The nurse said that the knife had hit her left kidney and was causing internal bleeding. A large artery was also hit, but since the knife stayed in her body, it cut off the movement of blood in that artery. That saved her a lot of vital blood. It's what probably saved her life." He looked at me before continuing.

I had a hard time looking back at him, but I nodded, motioning for him to finish. "The next part I have to tell you is bad. In surgery, they lost her for five minutes. The doctor called time of death." My knees buckled underneath me, but Dave caught me and put me in a chair before I could fall to the floor. I started crying again. She was pronounced dead after five minutes of her heart not working. Dave put a hand on my shoulder before continuing.

"Thankfully, the paramedic that we talked to at the scene was still there and he didn't listen to the doctor and gave her another electric shock. Her heart started again, just enough that they could get it back up to normal before they continued with surgery." I would forever be thankful for that man. He saved her life, not once, but twice. I had to remember to get his name. I realized that Dave had stopped talking.

I looked up at him. By his expression, I knew I looked bad. We just sat there for a few more minutes in silence as I tried to gather myself before we walked back to the team and Jack and Haley. Everyone was silent. Even Jack was starting to realize that something was really wrong, and had a worries expression on his face. He was too young for all of this worry.

"Who is here for Emily Prentiss?" asked a nurse as she came out. I heard Morgan suck in a breath when he noticed that her scrubs were covered in blood.

"We are," Rossi, Morgan and I responded. Everyone else was still in shock. JJ and Reid still hadn't moved.

She eyed us warily, but knew that it was better not to argue with six federal agents. "The doctor is finishing up the surgery. It is going to take a lot of stitches. You should also know we lost her again for three minutes." Before she could finish, JJ had jumped up out of her chair and ran to the nearest trash can. I tried to look away but could still hear her throwing up. I couldn't blame her; I felt like I was going to too.

"What do you mean you lost her? Do you mean her heart…" Garcia tried to finish her sentence but couldn't form anymore words. She started crying again, clutching the front of Morgan's shirt for dear life. Reid still had not moved. "The doctors were able to get her heart going again, and they don't suspect any brain damage from the oxygen loss," said the nurse.

"We'll have her put in the intensive care unit after she gets out of surgery. There is a two visitor at a time policy. I'll be back to let you know when you can go see her." "Thank you nurse," said Rossi. I had no idea how he kept it together. She nodded and walked back towards the ER room.

We sat in silence again. Haley started looking like Reid with the blank stare. I knew she was thinking that it was her fault, that Foyet had meant to kill her, but Emily had gotten in the way. I didn't blame her. It wasn't her fault. I tried to listen to Emily's last words, her telling me not to blame myself, but I couldn't do it. What if I had gotten their earlier? What if I had run into the house first instead of standing outside with Jack and Haley? What if I had worked harder to get to Foyet before he got to them? What if I had made the deal?

"She tried to tell you didn't she?" JJ's voice sounded so weak, that I wasn't even sure if she had really said anything. I looked up at her and say that even though it was clear she was talking to me, she wasn't looking at me. She was looking straight ahead at nothing, eyes glazed over like Reid's, leaning against the wall.

"What did she try to tell me JJ?" I saw Garcia look at JJ and nod. Not that JJ would have seen it – her eyes were still focused on the nothing that was in front of her.

"She tried to tell you that she loves you."

_A/N~ Hi guys! I tried to get this one up ASAP because chapter 4 won't be up until the end of next week…sorry! Thanks for all of your reviews!_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N~ Surprise! I got more time than I had anticipated, and got to finish and post chapter 4 much earlier than I thought. Thank you for all of your comments and reviews! Chapter 5 will be up Thursday if the homework load isn't too bad, but definitely by this weekend. Hope you like this chapter! Enjoy!_

(Haley POV)

My world felt like it was crashing down when I got the call from the man posing as the U.S. Marshall. Aaron was dead. It hurt, and a piece of my heart ripped. But it was a small piece. I had hadn't been in love with him since our separation when he chose the BAU over Jack and I. But that didn't mean that I didn't love him anymore. We spent twenty years together – yeah I still loved him, but only as the father of my son. The only thing we had in common was Jack. And I couldn't say that I missed him, because I didn't.

But thinking I would never see him again, that he was gone, was something different then not having him around for Jack. And I knew that without Aaron that we would never leave witness protection, and that that man would still come after us for fun.

So when I heard Aaron's voice on the phone, I was relieved. And then I remember that George Foyet's gun was pressed against me, and the tears started again. He sent Jack to their hiding place, and I knew that it was only a matter of time before he would kill me.

And then Agent Prentiss, walked in. I was still scared – he was only going to kill her too. I saw that she was scared too when I looked at her. She knew too well how this was going to end. Our eyes met for a split second, and then hers locked on George Foyet, moving with him. It was something Aaron would do when we would be walking through a bad part of D.C. He would 'profile' them.

I felt him loosen his grip around me as he got into how he was going to kill us, and I braced myself for what was going to happen. I didn't, actually I couldn't move as Agent Prentiss – Emily – shot him three times in the chest. I still couldn't move, even as she told me to go get Jack and tell Hotch that they were okay. I was so relieved to meet Aaron outside of the house and started crying again. It was over.

But then I heard the scream. Before I knew it, Aaron, Dave, Derek, and Dr. Reid ran into the house. Still holding Jack, I ran to the blonde agent – JJ? – who had collapsed and called an ambulance. Not only for JJ but I knew that the scream meant that something was really wrong.

I remember hearing that man laugh and say that Agent Prentiss was dead. That made the tears start again. Then I heard her say something, and then four gunshots. I held my breath until I heard Aaron's voice. It sounded strained and thick, like it did when we were talking on the phone before Agent Prentiss came in.

I then got distracted by the sirens. Jack was holding onto my leg, no one had come out of the house yet. JJ was still lying on the ground, but I heard her groan softly. When the paramedics pulled up, one of them helped JJ up while the others ran into the house.

I didn't know what else to do by stand there and hold Jack until the paramedics came out. Aaron, Dave, Derek, and Dr. Reid came out after them. They looked awful.

Derek Morgan looked full of rage. His entire body was shaking, but I could see anger and angst were battling against each other in his eyes. Dave looked strangely calm. He was the one talking to paramedics, and he seemed fairly put together. I didn't even know Agent Prentiss well at all and I was extremely shaken up. Hadn't he been working with her for two years?

Dr. Reid looked like hell. His eyes were already bloodshot, and he looked paler than he did when he had walked in. He too was shaking, but not with rage like Agent Morgan. I thought he would collapse like Agent Jareau, but he braced himself against his knees before following the others towards the paramedic explaining Agent Prentiss' state to Dave.

Aaron came out last. He looked like nothing I could have expected. He was barley listening to the paramedic, and when he walked over to Jack and me, I knew that I had to be the one to drive to the hospital. He had always hid his emotions pretty well, even more so when he had joined the Bureau, but now they were all over his face. I had never seen that much agony on one persons face in all my life. It was painful to look at.

He had to care about her more than a just a coworker. None of the others looked that bad – maybe Dr. Reid, but it was different. His eyes looked hollow, and the smile he had when he first seen Jack was long gone. I just nodded when I offered to drive and silently got in the car. The ride to the hospital was pretty much silent, other than Jack's curious questions.

I hated to ask him, but I needed to know what had happened after I left the house with Jack. He had pretended to be dead until I left the room, then attacked her. He knew that he didn't have time to kill both of us, so he decided to kill her. If I hadn't left, if she had left the room instead of me…

If Aaron's eyes and expressions had not told me how much he was hurting, his voice did. He always prided himself on controlling his voice, but now it was weak and broke in several places.

Later in the hospital, I could tell he still wasn't together. He was distant, and I could tell that Jack was disappointed that his father wasn't happy. Normally, I would be berating Aaron for not paying attention to his son after have to send us away into protective custody for months, but I couldn't even look him in the eyes now. Too much agony was in his eyes.

Another woman came to the waiting room after Dave greeted us. Agent Morgan ran straight to her, and she cried into his chest before turning to us. I appreciated (Agent?) Penelope Garcia's attempt to talk to Jack and I, but I could tell that she was fearful for Agent Prentiss' life too.

I didn't know what Dave had told him when they walked off, but I know it had something to do with Agent Prentiss. Dave said something and Aaron nearly collapsed and fell into a chair. I shuddered. It was bad. I couldn't help but feel responsible. She stopped George Foyet from killing me and my son, and now she was in an emergency room, fighting for her life. I shouldn't of fallen for the trap. I should of tried to call Aaron anyway. I should of told her to leave with us…

When Aaron and Dave came back to sit, it was silent. Even Jack had stopped asking questions. A nurse came out and gave us more information on Agent Prentiss' progress. Agent Jareau ran to the nearest trash can and threw up. I wanted to do the same thing. Agent Garcia cried more and clutched Agent Morgan's shirt again. Dave still seemed utterly calm, which seemed to make Agent Morgan angry. Dr. Reid still had not moved from the position he had taken since we had gotten there. He was completely still, looking at the floor with glassy eyes. Aaron was in agony.

He had to feel something for her. I've know this man since I was in high school – this was something I had never seen before. He didn't look like he was awaiting news about a coworker. He looked like he was awaiting news about a loved one. He had before referred (at the time to my chagrin) to his team as his family, but this was more than that. Had something happened with them? Had they been seeing each other? Is that even allowed?

Agent Jareau came back in and leaned against the door. "She tried to tell you, didn't she?" she asked Aaron, looking straight ahead with blank eyes. "What did she try to tell me JJ?" he answered in a small voice that broke more than once. I saw Agent Garcia nod to her from the corner of my eye. JJ's voice was barely audible, but we could all hear what she said next. And it made so much sense.

"She tried to tell you that she loves you."

(Hotch POV)

I didn't know how to respond. My entire being froze. She loves me. And she's dying. And it's my fault.

I rested my elbows on my knees and buried my face in my hands. Then I started to cry. Tears ran silently down my face and my lungs were taking in sharp breaths. I struggled to hold back sobs.

Of course I loved her back. And of course I didn't realize it until her life was held by a single tread. How did I not see it? Had I really compressed everything that has happened between us so well? I had started getting used to, and even looking forward to talking to her in the office after everyone else went home. Even if we usually only talked about work, she had a certain way of making serial killers and rapists sound less terrifying, but not less serious. I could bounce anything off of her, and trusted her the most in the field. We didn't even need to verbally communicate most of the time, we just knew.

And when we went for coffee after work that day, I hadn't opened up to anyone about that much personal stuff. Ever. She was so easy to tell everything to. She knew when to say something, what to say, what not to say, and what she did say wasn't the crap I would get occasionally get from other people. She told things just like they were. Never 'it will all work out' or 'it's going to be okay', because she knew it probably wouldn't be. It was somewhat painful to bring up some of the things we talked about, but I found myself wanting to tell her. I wanted her to know about me, and I wanted to know things about her. And that scared me.

That's what made me more distant the next day and even for the next few weeks. She was my subordinate! I couldn't go to coffee with her and talk about my feelings! If anything came out of it, we could both loose out jobs. I guess at the time it was my subconscious telling me that I did feel something. Something that never really went away, something that just grew and grew, but stayed bottled up.

Emily was over a lot after Foyet's attack. Probably more than necessary, but now I guess I know why. Not that I didn't enjoy her coming. It made me feel less alone, which was something I had been feeling more and more. After dropping me off at my apartment one night after a case, we talked about our latest UNSUB. "…He's got Tommy. He's not alone." I still hear her saying that. By that time we weren't talking about the UNSUB anymore. We were talking about me. And she made sure I knew that I wasn't alone. I stood staring at the door after she left, wishing for her to come back.

Why hadn't I acted on this? Is it too late now? I loved her.

I loved Emily Prentiss, and she loved me. She loved the broken, distant, workaholic, conservative, guarded, and cold Aaron Hotchner.

But now it may be too late.

I cried for what seemed like eternity until the doctor came out into the waiting room. He did a double take when he looked at my face, drained and pale, with bloodshot eyes showing a thousand emotions.

"We finished the operation without anymore complications. Agent Prentiss has been moved to the intensive care unit on the next floor up. She will need to stay there until we can be sure that none of the damage to her stomach will cause any more problems. Determining that could take anywhere between a few days and a few weeks. She is still heavily sedated, and probably won't wake up from the anesthetics for another hour or two. You can visit her now if you'd like, but only two people at a time can go into the room."

Still not trusting my voice, I only nodded. I was relived. There weren't any words for what I was feeling. Dave, Haley, Morgan, and Garcia all let out sighs of relief. Even Reid became more relaxed, and he looked like he was coming back to us. More tears fell down JJ's face as she whispered "thank you" to the doctor before he turned and went back into the emergency room.

We all sit there silent again, not knowing what to do next. I wanted nothing more than to run to her, to see that she was okay with my own eyes. Then Jack walked over to me and I pulled him onto my lap. He gave a big hug, and I hugged him back. I had missed my son so much. I didn't want him to think that I hadn't missed him, or that I wasn't happy that I could finally be with him again. More tears started to fall, this time with relief that Jack was okay. Things could go back to normal now. Well, not exactly normal, but no more serial killers would be threatening my son's life.

"Daddy you're hurting me!" I hadn't realized that I had been squeezing him that hard. I let go of him, but kept him close to me. "I'm sorry buddy. Daddy is just so happy that you and your mommy are okay and that Miss Emily is going to be okay, too."

"Well what are you doing here, daddy?" I was confused by his question. What did he mean? The look on his face told me that he thought I should know, but I pretty clueless. Some profiler. "Go see Miss Emily! Duhhh," said Jack. And he was right. I had to go see Emily. I was dumbfounded for a moment.

What WAS I still doing sitting here?

I saw the corners of Morgan and Garcia's mouth turn up, and Dave let out a soft chuckle. Jack said it so matter of factly, and he was completely right. I had to be with her right now. I loved her.

"You know Jack, you're right. I love you buddy, but I got to go right now," I got up and set Jack down and gave him one more hug before putting him down in the chair next to Haley.

"Aaron." I turned to look at Dave. "Spend as much time as you need. I'll take care of them. We'll all be here. Tell us when she wakes up."

"Thanks Dave," I said before dashing out of the room to the elevator. When I got off, I quickly walked to the information desk. "Emily Prentiss?" I held my breath. "Room 214," then nurse behind the desk said. "Thank you," I said while running towards the room.

My breath caught in my throat as I saw her lying in the hospital bed. She looked so fragile lying there, so lifeless. Definitely not the person I was used to having by my side in the field. I couldn't even move towards her. I felt as if she would break if I touched her. I finally made my way to the side of the hospital bed and brushed my fingers against her hand. Nothing in her changed. I looked up at the heart monitor, watching her heart beat rise and fall with the steady beep.

I couldn't even fathom how hard it must have been for JJ to be sitting there with her in the ambulance, seeing the line go flat three times. I stuttered thinking about it, and it brought fresh tears into my eyes. We had been so close to losing her. _I_ had been so close to losing her. I pulled a chair from the corner and sat down, positioning it so I sat right next to her, looking at her face. I never took my eyes off of her, fearing that if I looked away, she would disappear.

I started to cry again. I let everything that was still bottled up inside of me out, as I held onto Emily's hand. I stroked my fingers over the back of her hand over and over, letting the tears run down my face. My eyes focused on our intertwined fingers. I knew what I was about to do was utterly crazy, but I wanted to try anyway.

"Emily, if you can hear me, I want you to wake up. I need you to wake up. Please Emily. I love you. I have loved you for a while. I don't know exactly when I started to, but I do. You have given me light when all I saw was darkness. I want to have you here with me, forever. Emily I need you to wake up. You have to be okay because I cannot live without you. You're the one keeping me alive inside. You make what we do seem a little less terrible. Our nights together in the office after everyone else leaves is what has been getting me through the long days at the office. I want to have those late nights at the office, and I want to come home to you every night. But I need you to wake up first. I love you Emily Prentiss, and I need you with me forever."

By the time I finished, my voice was barley a whisper. I looked at up her face, then back at our hands. My breath caught in my throat again and a smile, the first one in a long time, spread across my face when I felt a slight pressure on my hand.

She knew.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N~ Sorry – this came out a bit later than I had hoped, but here's chapter five! Enjoy!_

(Emily POV)

The last thing I remembered before the intial darkness was that sick bastard leaning over me with the knife in his hand. Everything went black, until I heard the only voice that brought me back to this earth. I couldn't slip away, not when he was so close.

He had to know that it wasn't his fault. Nothing he could have done would have stopped Foyet. I knew I was going into the house without backup. I knew what I was doing, and I would have done it again to save Hotch's son and Haley. It was the price to pay for him to have his son back. He missed Jack, even more so then he let on. After talking that night over coffee, I knew just how much. And if I could give him the one thing he wanted, his son back, I would.

I heard four gun shots, and in the moments before Hotch rolled me over, I wanted to die. Had Foyet gotten them too? But then I looked into Hotch's eyes. He and the rest of the team (minus JJ – where was she?) were there and safe.

He was right there, leaning over me, telling me that everything was going to be okay, although the pain in the middle of my stomach was saying otherwise. There was something in the way he looked at me. He had never looked at me like before. Or had he? My mind trailed off to the coffee night again, and I felt myself slipping away without my permission. "Emily? Emily? Come on Emily wake up. Open your eyes. Please. Please, please, please open your eyes. Stay with me Em. Come on."

He never called me Emily. I knew right then that I had to tell him. Not because I wanted him to pity me as I lay dying on the floor, but because I felt like he had to know. I would have wanted to know "Hotch…"

"Emily! Hold on. You're going to be okay. Don't leave us Em. Stay awake for me. Please."

I struggled to keep my eyes open. "Hotch…?"

"Yes Em?" I would have smiled at the use of my first name, not to mention a nickname, but it was too hard.

"I need you know that this isn't your fault, okay? It's not your fault. Nothing you could have done could have prevented this from happening. Do you hear me?" It was hard chocking out those words, but I had more.

"Stay with me Emily."

"Something you gotta know Hotch…"

"Emily! Emily, come on. Open your eyes! What do I have to know?" Too late. I wanted to tell him so bad, but I couldn't. I started to slip away again.

I started to become aware of everything around me, but things were sluggish. I couldn't open my eyes yet, so I decided to concentrate on hearing. It was pretty quiet, but I heard someone crying softly. Who was with me?

Then I felt a rough but strong hand pick mine up, and had no doubt who was next to my bed. A sudden feeling of security and calmness washed over me as I knew that Aaron Hotchner was right beside me. I had no doubts that he would keep me safe.

I trust him. I love him.

And what I heard changed my life forever.

"Emily, if you can hear me, I want you to wake up. I need you to wake up. Please Emily. I love you. I have loved you for a while. I don't know exactly when I started to, but I do. You have given me light when all I saw was darkness. I want to have you here with me, forever. Emily I need you to wake up. You have to be okay because I cannot live without you. You're the one keeping me alive inside. You make what we do seem a little less terrible. Our nights together in the office after everyone else leaves is what has been getting me through the long days at the office. I want to have those late nights at the office, and I want to come home to you every night. But I need you to wake up first. I love you Emily Prentiss, and I need you with me forever."

It pained me that I couldn't hop right of bed and fall into his arms, or even tell him that I loved him too. All I could do was squeeze his hand and hope that he knew that I felt the same way too.

(Rossi POV)

I knew I looked like the biggest ass in the world, staying so calm as one of our own was fighting for her life. Let me tell you that hearing was going on at the Hotchner house and what the doctor told was the hardest things I have ever had to hear in my life. But even as hard as hearing all that was, it was nothing compared to the looks on the faces of the team.

Reid looked…lost. Emily had been his anchor after Colorado, and to him, she was invincible. Not anymore. She took care of him in a motherly way, and teased him in a sisterly way. Sure he had a real mother, but the parental roles were kind of switched. Emily was the sister and mother that he never had.

Garcia, who we had shielded from most of the gruesome details, was still a mess. She had lost all of her quirkiness and wit as soon as she had heard that Emily was in the hospital. She, JJ, and Emily were best friends. Emily was the emotionally strong one between them. I had no doubt that Emily would be the one comforting her friend through this, not the other way around.

I couldn't begin to think how JJ was doing. She had been in the ambulance with Emily. The paramedic had said that she flat lined three times on the ride to the hospital. JJ saw her best friend slip away three times, not knowing if she would be coming back, and could do nothing about it. That explained her blank staring. She wasn't really with us. I thought I should probably get her to call Will. It was getting kind of late.

Derek was using rage to conceal his pain; that was obvious. Emily was like a sister to him too. They had a really close bond, a kind of friendship that ran deep. But it was just a friendship. Not like with her friendship with Aaron…

I gulped when I thought of the man's face when he saw Emily's bloody body on the ground. We were all in extreme pain, but the look in his eyes said agony. I'd known that he loved her for a while now, but didn't realize it was that deep. Some profiler.

The doctor came out and said that Emily was okay. That was possibly the most relieving moment of my life. I thanked the doctor, feeling real calmness wash over me now. We could all rest now.

I was however, confused as to why Aaron was still here. Why was he not with Emily? I was about to say something before the smallest member of the Hotchner family stepped up and did it for me. Jesus Christ, he was cute.

Only a small child, his child, could get away with talking to Aaron like that. JJ and Garcia would have gotten a class three glare (yeah Derek, Reid, and I numbered them), Reid a class two that would have made him pee his pants, and Derek and I a class one that on occasion unnerved even me.

Then I realized that the only thing holding him back right now was Jack. He wanted to be there for Emily, but he loved his son. He didn't want to leave him – he had just gotten him back. But Jack was still going to be here in a few hours, and Emily should be his main priority right now. With a quick dismissal, I sent him out to her room in the ICU.

I leaned back in my chair and sighed. I had been staying strong for the rest of the team because they couldn't be. Aaron was the strong, relentless leader. He was always strong for all of us. He hadn't even blinked when Foyet broke into his apartment, shot at him, and stabbed him nine times. He couldn't be that strong now, but someone had to be. I realized that it had to be me immediately after the first three gunshots.

So I bottled up everything, pressing it deep down, hoping that it wouldn't arise anytime soon. I suppressed the need to beat Foyet, although he was already dead; suppressed the need to scream when I saw the knife in her stomach; suppressed the need to cry and be angry like everyone else.

To me Emily was like a daughter that I never had. She came to me for advice from anything from the case we were dealing with; to relationship stuff she didn't want to talk about with JJ or Garcia. She had a way of making me laugh and forget all the things we saw everyday quicker than anyone. She would take me down a notch when I got too cocky, but kept me feeling important. I was the only person she told about her early high school years and pregnancy in Rome. And I loved her too, like family. We were all family, and there is nothing worse in the world than having someone in your family gone.

I felt everything I had bottled up coming to the surface, so I quickly stood up and walked off, not trusting my voice to break if I said a word. I walked to the nearest bathroom and put my hands against the sink to brace myself and then let all the emotions I had kept inside of me and wept.

(Emily POV)

When I had finally gathered enough strength to open up my eyes, I saw that Hotch was still beside me, holding my hand. His eyes were focused on our intertwined fingers, although my hand was pretty limp in comparison to his firm but soft grasp. I squeezed his fingers again and he immediately looked up at my face.

My breath caught in my chest when I looked up at his face. His eyes were warm and full of the love he had professed. The thought that he loved me and that I was his made my pulse quicken. It kicked into rapid mode when he gave me a breathtaking smile. Both dimples!

Suddenly his whole face turned from warm and loving to fear and panic as his head snapped up to the monitor on the screen, staring in horror at the fast and erratic rhythm.

"Calm down, Hotch. I'm fine – just a bit flustered," I said trying to take away the stress emanating from his body. I could feel the blood rising in my cheeks. Since when did he affect me so much? _About a year ago! _A little annoying voice in my head told me. I gave him a weak smile to let him know that I was okay.

He visibly relaxed, well, his body did anyway. His eyes still screamed with panic.

"It was so close. Too close. Every time that monitor goes a bit off, I think of when…" he gulped, obviously struggling for words. I felt a sharp pain in my own chest to see him so scared.

"I'm okay Aaron. I am. My heart is going crazy because of your smile, not the pain. Everything is going to be okay," I said reassuring him, grabbing a hold of left hand with both of mine. He brought his other hand up to cup my face. "I love you."

After hearing that, the fear and panic vanished from his eyes just about as quickly as they had appeared, and he smiled again. I thought I would melt when I looked into his eyes, instantly loosing myself in their depth.

"I love you too," he said with emotion thick in his voice. He then slowly leaned his face closer and closer to mine. I sucked in a breath and the heart monitor started beeping again, but this time he only half smiled and brought his lips closer to mine.

I felt his warm breath sweep against my face, and tilted my head just a bit to the side. Our lips were centimeters apart when a tap on the door was heard, and then a nurse entered. We pulled apart, but kept eye contact. A small smile came across my face, and I stayed looking at him even as the nurse started talking to me.

"Well hello there honey! Glad to see you awake! And you have such handsome company!" Normally I would have thrown that woman across the room for calling _my_ Aaron Hotchner handsome, but this nurse was probably in her early sixties and was just trying to be friendly. I would have to watch out for that one I could see looking at us from the hallway though…

"Yeah he's okay," I said flashing Hotch a smile and a wink, while he feigned offense before giving me a large smile back. The nurse chuckled.

"Well my name is Rachel, and I'm going to be your nurse for the next four hours. Now I'm sorry sir, but you're going to have to leave while I change the bandage on her stomach. You can come back about 20 minutes from now."

I wanted to protest, to ask if he could stay. But that would mean that he would have to see the wound. I didn't know if I wanted to face seeing the stab wound alone, but I knew that he would instantly guilty, and changing the bandage was going to be a painful process. He didn't look like he wanted to leave either, but slowly stood up, keeping his eyes locked on me the whole time.

"Go see Jack and everyone. Tell them I say hi," I said as my dismissal. The corners of his lips turned up, and then he leaned forward and kissed my forehead before getting out of the nurses way. "I love you Emily," he said turning back to me with his hand on the doorknob. I smiled again. "I love you too Aaron," loving the way his first name rolled off my tongue and how his use of mine made me feel.

I suddenly became aware of the pain in my stomach right as he walked out the door. It was like he kept it away, but he wasn't here anymore. The nurse told me some comforting things as I leaned back against the bed and let her change the dressing on my wound. He'd be back in 19 minutes.

(Hotch POV)

I couldn't help but feel nervous leaving her in the hospital bed, not being able to be there if something happened. I had to tell the team that she had woken up and was okay though. As I walked to the elevator to take be to the waiting room they were in on the floor below, all I could think about was our almost kiss. I wanted to kiss her so badly, to show her how I really felt and that the words I said were real. Stupid nurse had to walk in…

Trying not to sulk, I got off the elevator and walked into the waiting room. Dave, Morgan, Reid, and Will all stood up as I entered. JJ must have called him and asked for him to come with Henry, as she was holding the baby in her arms sitting next to Garcia. I was surprised to see that Haley and Jack were still there, that they hadn't left to get away from off of this madness.

Jack came running at my legs, and I bent down to pick him up just before he crashed into me. I squeezed him against my chest as he wrapped his tiny arms around my neck. I had missed my son so much. I had a hard time believing that he was really here with me right now.

"So how is she Aaron?" I noticed that Dave's voice was a little deeper than it had been, and that his eyes were a bit reddened. He must have reached his breaking point too. I was grateful though, I definitely had not been in the emotional state to lead the team and keep them together. I made a mental note to thank him with a bottle of whisky.

"She woke about 10 minutes ago, and the nurse is with her changing the bandage right now. She's going to be okay." They all let out a sigh of relief, and a small smile broke out on a few faces. More tears fell down Garcia and JJ's cheek, this time with relief.

"I'll go talk to her doctor and find out what I can," offered Reid. We all nodded our heads. This team had some of the most brilliant minds on the planet, but only Reid could understand what the doctors were saying without it needed to be dumbed down.

As he walked past me to the elevator to find Emily's doctor, JJ handed Henry to Will as she and stood up, pulling Garcia up with her. She still had tears flowing down her cheeks. "Um…we're just going to check on Em…I need to …" her breathing hitched again, and Will put a hand on her shoulder.

"Of course. Room 214," I said as her and Garcia nearly ran to the elevator. When they left, the rest of the men sat down with me. Jack, who was still on my lap, was the first to fire off questions.

"Is Miss Emily okay daddy? Are you sad still? Why is Miss JJ and Miss Garcia crying? Is the bad man gone?" I flinched at the last one. My son knew I got rid of the bad guys, but he didn't need to know how…

"Miss Emily is going to be okay, thank you for asking Jack. I'm not sad anymore because Miss Emily is okay, and you and your mommy are back from …vacation… now and I can see you a lot more now. Miss JJ and Miss Garcia are crying because they are happy that Miss Emily is okay now. And you don't have to worry anymore, because the bad man is gone, and he can't hurt anybody anymore." Answering Jack's questions directly was more effective than beating around the bush, or giving half answers that he would question again later.

This seemed to satisfy him enough. He put his head on my shoulder and said "I love you daddy," bringing tears to my eyes. "I love you too Jack."

_A/N~ Okay there it is! Hope you liked chapter five. Not too much happened, but I have more exciting plans for chapter six, would should be up sometime next week. Please feel free to send any question/comments/concerns! Thanks!_


	6. Chapter 6

(Emily POV)

The nurse had just gotten done changing the bandage and helping me to the bathroom, then back into the bed when I heard a knock on the door. I found myself smiling, thinking it was Hotch, but then two blonds stuck their heads in through the doorway, causing my smile to alter a bit, but they didn't notice.

Not that I wasn't overly excited to see my two best friends, but I was expecting him, wishing to get back to where we left off before the nurse interrupted.

"Emily!" JJ breathed, and I could tell that it was first time she really let out a breath in a while. She and Garcia ran to my bedside as the nurse excused herself with a smile.

JJ sat where Hotch had been sitting 20 minutes prior, and Garcia pulled up a chair next to her. They both simultaneously launched questions at me – how was I feeling? Was I in pain? Did I need anything? How bad was it? What happened when I had gotten to Foyet?

I answered all their questions with patience and honesty, except for the one about me being in pain. I had denied the heavy pain medication the nurse offered, not wanting to become dependent on strong medication like Reid had. With only weak meds, the pain was sharp, but with JJ and Pen with me I could rely on the distraction to keep it off my mind.

I also had a few questions of my own. Were Haley and Jack okay? What had happened to me after I got into the ambulance? There was a fairly large block of time that had been erased from my memory, but I wanted the truth.

JJ's eyes glazed over when I asked about what had happened in the ambulance, but she answered my question anyway. I hadn't realized how close it really was. It was shocking, and really scary. I almost left them forever…

I snapped my mind away from the thought, trying to find something to make me happy again. Jack and Haley were okay, which was good news. Jack was apparently really confused, and Haley was quite shaken up, but other than that, they seemed to be okay. Garcia said they were still with the rest of the team in the waiting room.

"I think she blames herself," Garcia added quietly. "I'm no profiler, but she looked guilty. I think that she thinks that if she had asked you to come outside to meet the boss-man with her that nothing would have happened to you. That he wouldn't have attacked you if she stayed there, or sent Hotch up right away to the room you and Foyet were in."

I was almost horrified. None of this was her fault. Nothing. I was just doing my job, it was protocol to stay with the body, and I never would have wanted her to stay in that room after everything she had been through already. Poor Haley…this was Foyet's fault, not hers.

Trying to change the somber topic, JJ raised an eyebrow and asked a question I had kind of been dreading. "So, you and Hotch, huh?" A sly smile came across Garcia's face. I felt my cheeks turn red.

"Well say something chickadee! Isn't this what you had been hoping for three days ago? Granted, you two could have found a much more romantic place and way to reveal your feelings for each other, but he loves you! And you love him! This is so flippin' sweet!" squealed Garcia. I gave a small laugh, and instantly regretted it, feeling the sharp pain in my stomach. The smiles vanished off both of their faces as they saw me wince in pain.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just have to be careful. No more laughing," I tried to say soothingly, but that was hard through clenched teeth. JJ's brow crinkled just a bit before patting my hand. We sat in silence for a few minutes before both JJ and Garcia yawned. I looked at the clock, and was shocked to see that it was almost 10:30. We had been going nonstop hunting Foyet all day, so they had to be tired.

"You guys need to go home. Get some sleep – really. It's almost 10:30 and you need to rest. It's been a long day. Garcia, go home to Kevin. JJ, spend some time with Will and Henry." Seeing the unsure looks on both of their faces, I continued. "I'll still be here tomorrow – I won't disappear. I promise. Go." With the final dismissal, both women stood up and gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek before leaving the room. Suddenly, another thought – something that we had talked about earlier – popped into my mind.

"Oh! Wait one second." They turned around, and JJ opened her mouth to ask something, but I cut her off before she could start. "Could you ask Haley to come here for just a minute? I know that she probably needs to get Jack to bed, but I just need to talk to her for a minute." "Of course hon. See you tomorrow. Love ya!" Garcia said, blowing me a kiss before she and JJ exited the room.

I mentally prepared myself for the conversation I was about to have with the ex-wife of my current boyfriend (was that was Hotch was now? Boyfriend didn't really seem right, not very Hotch-like, but I couldn't really think of anything else). She had to know that nothing that happened was her fault. I couldn't have her feeling guilty over something like this.

It was about three minutes after JJ and Garcia left that I heard a light tap on the door. "Come in! I said, as warmly as I could. The door slowly opened and Haley, looking tired, worried, and just as Garcia had said, guilty, walked in. She shut the door behind her, but stayed standing. "You can sit down," I said. Not looking directly at me, she moved and sat in the chair closest to me. I paused as I was about to say something, seeing that she was going to too.

After a long minute, Haley collected herself and began to speak. "Agent Prentiss, I cannot begin to thank you for what you did today. I knew that he was going to kill me, and Jack too, but there was nothing I could do about it. Then you came in, and got him away from me and my son, and I cannot describe how grateful I am for that. And then he attacked you. He should have attacked me, not you. Oh God, I should have asked to come downstairs with us. I should have told Aaron to go up to where you were with him right away, but I didn't and you could have died. Agent Prentiss I am so, so sorry." Her voice was beginning to break and her breathing hitched and came out ragged.

"Haley nothing you could have done would have changed anything. I knew that there would be repercussions going into the house, but I chose to go in without backup anyway. You cannot blame yourself for anything that happened earlier today, because you have nothing to be guilty about. It was all Foyet – he did this, not you. I don't blame you for this, and neither does Aaron, or anyone else. I knew that going in would be dangerous, but it was my decision to go into the house, and I would do it again. Okay?"

She was tearing up by the end of my little speech, and I felt me doing the same. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it, trying to comfort her. She lightly chuckled. "Here you are in the hospital, with a nearly fatal stab wound to the stomach, and you are the one comforting me." I chuckled too, and I cringed as I felt the pain again. She shot up and panic filled her eyes. "Agent Prentiss! I am so sorry! Oh my God, are you okay?" I instantly felt bad scaring her like that.

"I'm fine Haley, it's not too bad. Really – it's okay. And you can call me Emily." She sat back down again, with her eyes on my face, trying to see if I was lying. I'm sure she picked something about profiling up from Hotch after all the years they spent together, but I was a pretty good liar.

"Okay, if you're sure," she said apprehensively. "Thank you, Emily. You have no idea…" she trailed off again with tears in her eyes. Then she brought up a topic that genuinely surprised me. "So you and Aaron…you guys are kind of together now?" I was a little scared about answering that. I knew Hotch loved me, but had no idea where he and Haley stood. I knew they didn't have a bitter divorce, and she was good about letting him see Jack, but if he still had feelings for her, I had no idea.

She quickly started to explain, sensing my nervousness. "Don't worry – I have nothing wrong with it, and I'm not mad or anything. How could I ever be mad at you? And Aaron is a great man, and you both deserve each other. Our marriage ended a long time ago – even before the divorce. It was strained when he joined the BAU, was rocky when he became unit chief, and was pretty much over when he went back to work after his suspension. The divorce wasn't bitter, which we're both grateful for, and I want him to be happy. And trust me, Emily, you can make him happy."

I was really touched by her kind words, and felt that insecurity leave me. She pretty much just gave me permission to pursue a relationship with Hotch. I gave her smile and thanked her.

"If you don't mind, Emily, there is someone who really wants to talk to you," Haley said getting up out of the chair and opening the door, letting in a smiling, happy, Jack.

"Hi Miss Emily!" Jack Hotchner was perhaps the cutest little five year old boy on the planet. He had dimples, just like his father, and blond hair like his mother did before she dyed it for the witness protection.

"Hello Jack! How are you doing buddy?" I couldn't help but smile at the little boy as he hopped into the seat his mother had just gotten out of. Haley walked back from the doorway and sat in the other chair next to Jack.

"I am good now Miss Emily 'cause you helped my mommy and me and then daddy and Mr. Derek and Mr. Dave and Dr. Reid got the bad guy and now I get to see daddy again and mommy and I don't have to go on vacation anymore!" He was so cute when he rambled on and on. I smiled at him again and then saw Hotch at the door, leaning against the doorway, watching us with a small smile on his face. I gave him a smile and motioned for him to come over to us and sit on my bed. I was about to say something when Morgan, Dave, and Reid all walked in.

"Emily!" a squeaking, unmistakable voice that belonged to Reid cried out before quickly walking to the side of my bed, followed by Dave and Morgan.

They all leaned over to kiss my cheek and give a hug, being ever careful of the stitches in my stomach.

"Jesus Christ Emily! You nearly gave us all a heart attack! I swear if you EVER go anywhere without backup again, an UNSUB will be the least of your problems. Glad you're okay though. I was really scared for you Em." Morgan's threat made Hotch's eyes narrow, but he didn't say anything.

Dave rolled his eyes at Hotch before addressing me. "Emily you gave us quite a scare. Do you have any idea how close that was? How many times you flat lined?" Everyone in the room, including Haley and Dave cringed at the wording, but he continued, his voice getting softer. "Please don't scare us like that again Emily." Reid's eyes got glassy and started to say something but stopped.

"Come on kid spit it out," Morgan quipped. I glared at him and looked at Reid, nodding for him to continue. Just as he was about to say something again, the nurse walked back in.

"Hello Agents. I am going to ignore the fact that there are six visitors in the room when two is the limit since this one," she gestured to Morgan, "punched a pretty decent indent in the wall downstairs in the waiting room." Morgan looked down at feet and mumbled an apology to the nurse, embarrassed. Dave rolled his eyes again.

"I do however have to ask you all to step out for a few minutes while I change Agent Prentiss' bandage again. It won't take too long," she assured them. Remembering the pain that caused last time, panic started to swell up in me. Everyone must have noticed, because the nurse asked me if I wanted stronger pain medication, Haley and Morgan squeezed my hands, Reid my shoulder, Dave patted my leg, and Hotch started rubbing my leg from where he was sitting at my feet.

Jack whispered something to Haley, and smiling, she handed him her purse. He started digging through it, and cried out when he found whatever he was looking for. "Miss Emily my Scooby-doo band aid will make everything better!" he said with a triumphant grin. Everybody laughed at his little boy innocence.

"Thank you, Jack! That is so sweet of you!" He was too adorable! I wasn't so scared about the bandage changing anymore.

"He is such a cutie! But seriously, I need you all to leave." Moody nurse.

Haley squeezed my hand one more time before leaving with Jack, who blew me a kiss. Dave, Reid, and Morgan kissed my cheek and told me that they would be back soon before filing out. Hotch came up the opposite side of the bed the nurse was standing at and leaned over to kiss my forehead and whisper in my hear. "I love you Emily."

"I love you too, Aaron," I whispered back. I liked the way his first name rolled off my tongue. It seemed so natural. He kissed my forehead again before giving me a quick smile before leaving.

I looked up at the nurse and braced myself for the pain and tried not to look down at my stomach. I went off to my happy place away from the horrors of the job, away from any distractions, and away from the rest of the world. A place with just me and Aaron.

(Reid POV)

Ever since Colorado, Emily has been the one looking after me more than anyone else on the team. Her and Morgan always poked fun at me, but never went too far. She was also always taking care of me in an almost motherly way. It was nice, since as a child, I mothered my mother, rather than the other way around.

When Foyet attacked her, I felt the little control I had leave me. It felt like walls were closing in on me, and I felt pain that I hadn't felt since Tobias Henkel. Not the pain I had while he had me kidnapped me, but the pain I felt afterwards. Defenseless. Worthless. Lost. Only this time it was more acute.

I didn't really know what to do, or what to say. I couldn't think of any statistic about survival rates, or hospital procedures, or correlations between EMT response time and patient survival.

I really hated having an eidetic memory. Everything kept rolling through my mind, over and over. How Emily looked so lifeless on the ground, how the knife was sticking out of her stomach, how the paramedics shouted commands and sounded stressed. When they loaded her into the ambulance and one paramedic said he didn't have a pulse. That was the first time she had flat lined. She did it again twice more before they got to the hospital. I'll always remember the faces of a defeated Derek Morgan, David Rossi, Penelope Garcia, and Jennifer Jareau. The confused and sad ones of Haley and Jack Hotchner. And the image that was one of the most painful one's was Hotch's face.

Hotch has been our leader for so long, it was getting hard to remember what it was like having Gideon the team leader. Well, not for me. But how many serial killers, rapists, kidnappers, psychopaths, or psychotic beings has the fearless Aaron Hotchner stared down? More than the number of women Morgan has been with. It was painful seeing him loose his precious control when Emily went down. His face when he saw her lying there…I could recite the entire Webster's dictionary and not find a word that described that. So far beyond agony and I had no comprehension of it.

I was somewhat more relaxed but not completely relieved when Hotch came and told us that she was okay. I had to see her with my own eyes first.

We sat in the hall in silence before the nurse came back out after changing Emily's bandage again. We all stood up and she told us that we could all go back in again, but to be careful of the administrator and his strict rules.

That made my mind wander to Strauss. I visibly shuttered. Morgan, Dave, and Hotch did too so I guess that their thoughts were right with mine. Strauss would probably be coming within the next few days, demanding statements, protocol procedure violations, and pictures of Emily's stab wound for the file, along with a psychological evaluation. We wanted anything but for her to be here. I pushed the thought away from my mind when I noticed that no one had made a move for the door, and were all staring at me.

"Reid, why don't you go in. Have some time with Emily and we'll come in later," Hotch said. I knew he'd probably be standing right outside the door to make sure he was there if anything happened, but Morgan, Dave, and Haley mumbled something about coffee and walked off. Jack stayed with his father.

I nodded before walking into the room and shutting the door behind me. Emily had her eyes closed and was taking deep breaths and didn't seem to notice me walking in. I sat down next to her head in the chair by her bed until she opened her eyes.

"Hey Reid," she whispered smiling. I returned it, but was overly concerned about the amount of pain she was in. She shook her head sharply when I mentioned stronger pain medication, and I knew why. I felt guilty that fear of getting addicted like I did was what was keeping her from being completely pain free, but didn't say anything, knowing that she would shoot my apology down. Besides, I should be the one comforting her. She was the one in the hospital.

"Emily…" I began, taking a deep breath before going on. "Oh God I was so scared. Since the compound and Cyrus, you have been like an anchor for me. And I don't think that I ever apologized for how I treated you in New Orleans, or if I ever thanked you for everything that you have done for me, but I want you to know that I can't even begin to describe what it means to me. I've been looking up to you these last couple of months, and didn't want to even think about what I would have done if something had happened to you today. You mean so much to me Emily, so much to everybody."

Of course she knew I didn't mean any of this romantically, I loved her like an older sister, or mother. No one really took care of me like she did. She started to tear up a bit before she smiled and squeezed my hand.

"Thanks Spencer. I love you too." I smiled back and gave her a hug before getting up to open the door so the others could come in to say goodbye before we left. Today had taken everything out of all of us.

Upon opening the door, I did not see the happy and relieved faces I had seen before I went into Emily's room. Instead those faces were replaced with anger, frustration, and in Morgan's case, absolute rage. Only one person brought this kind of stress to us.

Strauss.


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N~ Okay so this chapter was originally from Rossi's POV again, but it was too boring, so I changed things up and did Morgan's POV, which I had a lot of fun with! Hope you guys like it too!_

(Morgan POV)

I smelt _it_ before I saw _it_. We didn't use correct pronouns with Strauss anymore. Well, I didn't anyway. Hotch had to be somewhat polite considering that she was using everything possible to ruin his career at the BAU, if not the FBI in whole. I would be forever grateful and never take for granted the amount of stress he had to go through with that woman. From my brief time as interim unit chief, I had had my share of meeting with Section Chief Strauss, and was very much beginning to realize why Hotch was never really in such a good mood.

Reid was still inside the room with Emily, which I was glad for. Kid was too young to hear the kind of vocabulary I was about to use, and knew that Rossi would use. Now that I thought about it…

"Haley, why don't you take Jack for a walk and get something to eat in the cafeteria? I think this is about to get ugly." Just then Hotch and Rossi's heads shot up, and I swear that I heard a growl come out of Hotch's throat. Hotch closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, trying to control himself before looking back up in the direction Strauss was coming. Haley looked at me, then Hotch, questionably, then decided that it was best if she got Jack out of there. And quickly.

Strauss walked up to us just as Haley and Jack were leaving in the same direction. "Ms. Hotchner I am pleased to hear that you and your son are safe now. Hello Jack." Haley managed a thank you while Jack just looked up the woman with terrified eyes and hid behind his mother. I smirked. They had taught him well.

Haley started to turn away to go to the cafeteria with Jack, but Strauss spoke up. "No Ms. Hotchner I would like to hear your statement here before I draw my conclusions. Please sit down." Haley took her original seat in the chair in the ICU waiting room. Jack sat on Hotch's lap, and Strauss sat down across from him.

"Conclusions about what?" I asked irritated. Hearing my tone, she narrowed her eyes, but didn't look at me. She looked straight at Hotch.

"Whether or not Agents Prentiss and Hotchner will be able to continue their current position at the BAU." Everyone's mouth dropped. Before I or anyone else had anytime to comment, throw something at her, or pull out their gun (which I admit my hand twitched towards), she went on again.

"Agent Prentiss will be put on probation and undergo a month long suspension after her medical leave. She entered the house without backup, knowing that the situation could not end well. She will also have to undergo a psych evaluation and give a statement. I would like that as soon as possible, as well as statements from all of you on my desk by tomorrow afternoon. I would also need to know why the suspect was shot four times in the head, and why bruise marks were found all over his body. Shooting a suspect without reason is a felony Agents. I expect you all know that one cannot be murdered in rage or as an act of revenge. What George Foyet did to Agent Prentiss was unfortunate, but to my knowledge, there was no reason to shoot him. Am I right Agent Hotchner?"

Hotch was shaking with rage. Jack looked up at him, looking a bit scared by the expression on his father's face. Haley quickly reached over and pulled Jack onto her lap. She too was shooting daggers at _it_, but the fact was ignored by Strauss. She was waiting on his answer.

With a shaky voice, he finally answered, "Agent's Reid, Morgan, Rossi and I shot the suspect because after he shoved a knife into Agent Prentiss' stomach, he jumped towards her to twist the knife inside of her in order to kill her." His voice turned from shaky to acid in a matter of seconds. "We fired to protect the life of an agent, not for revenge or out of rage for the bloodbath he was planning for Em-Agent Prentiss." He knew he couldn't mess up calling her Emily in front of Strauss. If she found out about their recent change in dynamics, she would have both of their heads. That is if we didn't get hers first….I filed that thought away for later.

"Agent Prentiss acted in order to protect a civilian and young child from a serial killer who had stalked and lured them to a house with the full intent of murdering them in cold blood. And may I add that George Foyet was _not _a suspect. He was the culprit. He murdered dozens of men and women, escaped from federal prison, attacked two federal agents, killed a U.S. Marshall, and sent two people into protective custody. He wore a bulletproof vest, knowing that he would be shot at, and when Agent Prentiss, who had followed protocol by doing this, came to check his pulse, jumped her and they fought until he took a knife he had taped to his ankle and shoved it into her stomach. So tell me, SC Strauss, what was your interpretation of the incident that caused you to think that Agent Prentiss was in anyway responsible for this?"

Damn! Hotch was good! He even had his level one glare on (yes, Reid and I numbered his glares in our free time at the office), and he only used that one when talking to Foyet or child offenders. Yeah, most of us would agree that she sometimes was on the same level. I wanted to give him a pat on the back for his acidic tone, which I was grateful not to be on the receiving side on. I was actually surprised that Strauss was even still sitting upright in her chair, not crying in a ball in the corner. Yeah, Hotch could do that. To grown men, too.

She was obviously uncomfortable though. She didn't meet his eyes (not that I was either), and was constantly shifting in her seat. Strauss wasn't used to being stood up to, and it made her nervous. She opened her mouth to speak, but shut it before saying anything. I saw Rossi's mouth turn upward, enjoying her discomfort. Too bad Reid wasn't here to record this moment in his eidetic memory.

Just then Reid came out of Emily's room and walked into one of the most confrontational situations I think I have even been in. He looked at all of us, gauging our emotions, as well as Strauss Hotch's, before walking to an empty seat in the waiting room.

"Regardless of the heroic actions towards your ex-wife and son, she still put her life in danger and entered without back up. Disobeying protocol is a serious issue in cases like these, and we have rules for a reason." I felt the anger rise in all of us again. Even Haley looked like she wanted to rip her head off. Reid bumped into me as he walked by, and muffled an apology before sitting down across from me. Strauss continued.

"Your position on the team is no longer in question but I still have to suspend Agent Prentiss, if not terminate her employment with the BAU and possibly the FBI entirely."

That was it. Hotch was shaking with absolute rage and fury, Haley and Reid were in utter shock, Rossi's hands were shaking, and his jaw was clenched. I instinctively reached my hand back to the holster of my gun, grabbing for the handle that strangely wasn't there.

Damn Reid and his magic tricks! I should have known something was up when he bumped into me. The isle wasn't narrow. Kid knew me well.

I'm pretty sure the next thing that came out of my throat was something between a growl and a hiss. Strauss even looked happy to be in control again. Threatening Emily's job was her way of warning us to play by her rules, and her rules only. Good think my baby girl was really good at bending rules. My call to Garcia would have to wait until later though. Now I had to deal with how to get my gun back from Reid. I wondered if Rossi and Hotch realized that he had taken theirs too. I hope the kid didn't get caught carrying four guns.

"I would like to talk to Agent Prentiss now," she demanded, staring to get up. Hotch was about to protest, but Reid piped up.

"She's sleeping now. Turns out that being on the receiving end of a nearly fatal stab wound makes a person kind of tired." The genius was lying through his brilliant teeth. His bad knee twitches whenever he lies, though his face and other body language could have said he was telling the truth.

Strauss sat back down with a sour look on her face. Well, she always had a sour look but this was even more so. "I will come back tomorrow to speak with Agent Prentiss. I expect all of you – including you Ms. Hotchner, in my office tomorrow morning at nine to take statements for this internal investigation. Goodbye." She stood up to leave, grabbing her coat and purse.

"Agent Prentiss is expected to have a full recovery, thanks for asking," I couldn't help but add. Wasn't her job to oversee the team? Wouldn't caring or even pretending to care be part of that? She only nodded and turned away and walked out.

"Wow. I guess I _that_ was why you were never in a good mood," Jack mused. Reid and Rossi stiffed a laugh, while I couldn't help but nearly fall over laughing. I had to hang out with this kid more. Hotch smiled at his sons attempt to lighten the mood without even realizing it. Kids had a way of making things less serious more light-hearted. Kind of like Emily.

"Emily is actually still awake. She's waiting for all of us now."

"Yeah kid, we know. You're knee twitched," Rossi noted. I guess I wasn't the only one who noticed. We all got up to go to room 214. Emily smiled as we all walked in, but sensed the stress in our expressions.

"Strauss," she groaned. I chuckled. Apparently, even being in the hospital hadn't affected her profiling abilities. Hotch nodded, and Rossi rolled his eyes.

"Which reminds me Reid – can I have my gun back now?"

(Emily POV)

If one person could suck the life out of the people I loved (not in the literal sense), it would Section Chief Erin Strauss. Whatever she had said out there had severely altered the good mood everyone had been in just an hour ago. I knew Aaron was going to have to tell me what she had said, but it wasn't a conversation either of us wanted to have now. Right now I just wanted to be with my family and forget about the pain, which was getting pretty bad.

It was getting really late, and Jack was continuously yawning. I knew Aaron would want to be with his son tonight, for the first time in the months since they went into protective custody. He should be with Jack. It was no secret how much he had missed his son, which was the main reason he was so obsessed with catching Foyet. So as much as I wanted him here with me tonight, I knew that I had to let him be with Jack and Haley.

They all took their original places around my bed, and I noticed Jack resting his head on his father's strong shoulder and yawning.

"You guys need to go home and rest. It's getting really late, and it would be an understatement to say that it has been a long day. I'm guess that Strauss has already kindly set up interviews and statements for everyone, and I know for a fact that if Derek Morgan does not get his beauty sleep another shooting will be going down in the BAU conference room," I said, raising an eyebrow at Morgan, who just chuckled. They all looked hesitant to leave, and it took several more tries to effectively get Reid and Rossi to leave for home. Morgan, Aaron, Haley, and an almost sleeping Jack were the only ones left.

"Seriously guys, I don't think that you want to spend all night in a hospital AND have to go up against Strauss early tomorrow morning. Aaron, go home and be with Jack. Unfortunately, I will still be here in the morning," _and the next morning, and the morning after that, and the one after that…_ I thought to myself. I hated hospitals. "Go home and rest. You too Morg-"

"Nuh-uh girl. You are by no means staying here by yourself tonight. That recliner is going to be my best friend until I can guilt trip Rossi into this," he said with a grin on his face, sitting in the chair in the corner to prove a point. Being too tired to argue with him, I tried my luck with Aaron and Haley.

"You guys should go home and sleep. You need to talk and be with Jack right now." I gave myself a mental pat on the back, knowing that it was a compelling argument. I felt even better knowing that they knew it too.

"Emily…"

"Aaron it's ok. Go." As much as I wanted him to stay, he had to be with Jack. His small son hadn't let go of his father's neck, and desperately needed him.

"Okay you're right. I'll be here after giving my statement to Strauss tomorrow morning. I'll have B-team take all the cases that come up for the next week or so. Someone is going to be with at all times. And you are not going to do anything that will cause your injuries to get worse. And Morgan, call me immediately if anything happens."

"I will cuff her to the bed if she even thinks about busting out," Morgan replied grinning. Finally he and Haley got up. She leaned down to give me a hug a whispered thank you in my ear before taking Jack from Aaron and walking towards the door with Morgan. I was silently thrilled that they were giving me a quick minute alone with Aaron.

The way he looked at me made my breathing stop for a second before a smile spread across my lips. He smiled back, showing off those heartbreaking but rarely seen dimples. Moving to sit on my bed next to me, he grabbed my hand and rested his other hand on my cheek. As I intertwined our fingers, I leaned into his palm, feeling truly happy, considering that I was in the hospital after being attacked by a serial killer.

"I love you Emily. You know that right?"

"Of course I do," I whispered back. I love you too Aaron. I love you so much."

At that he leaned down and gently but passionately pressed his lips against mine. Ours lips fit against each other's perfectly, and we both smiled against each other's lips as the heart rate monitor starting picking up pace. He shifted on the bed, squaring his shoulders with mine, deepening the kiss by slowly slipping his tongue into my mouth, cupping my cheek and the back of my neck. I held his head against mine, securing the hold with fists full of hair. Our breathing became ragged, and we finally had to pull away to breathe. Resting his forehead against mine, we sat in silence for a moment, trying to control our breathing.

I smoothed his hair back against his head and cupped his face with my hands. His fingers rubbing circles around my lips and cheeks were doing nothing for the heavy breathing situation. We sat together, looking into each other's eyes until everything was back to normal. I couldn't stop smiling, couldn't stop thinking that this had to be a dream. The man I have loved for months and months loved me back.

He kissed the lip of my nose before getting up from the bed, holding onto my hand. Neither one of us wanted to let go, but as I reminded myself the hundredth time, he had to get back to Jack.

"Goodbye Aaron. I love you."

"I love you too Emily. I will see you tomorrow."

We kept eye contact as he back out of the door, smiling the whole time. I sat in the bed, barley containing my excitement, when Morgan walked back in through the door with his go bag that somehow mysteriously appeared. Raising an eyebrow at my goofy grin, he sat down in the recliner and leaned back. "Goodnight Emily. I talked to JJ she will be there first thing in the morning since she will be giving her statement first. Then I will go give mine, and Hotch will come whenever he finishes his. Is that cool?"

I couldn't answer, so I nodded my head until he looked up to get the message. He started laughing when he realized that I was still smiling like a goof. "Goodnight Emily," he chuckled.

"'Night Morgan."


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N~ So sorry that this took so long to get out!! The end of the year is super stressful and I haven't had much extra time to write. This is the last chapter for this story though __. Hope you guys enjoy it! Beware: the end is extremely sappy, but I love it anyway!_

(Hotch POV)

I had driven Haley and Jack to Jessica's house. None of us wanted to go back to the house. I was still worried about her and Jack, although I knew that they were safe from Foyet now. I had made sure that he was never going to hurt my son or anyone else again. None of us had to live in fear anymore, thank God for that. I walked them up to the door, and was happy to see that Haley had relaxed since earlier. Actually, she had looked more relaxed after she had talked to Emily. And I realized that she hadn't been able to call her sister and tell her that she was out of protective custody, so this was going to be a very emotional reunion. Picking Jack up, she rang the doorbell and waited for her sister to open the door.

When she did, there was a parade of waterworks, hugs, kisses, and nonstop talking. It was like when Garcia greeted Emily and JJ when they got back from a case. I stepped off to the side once we were in the house to give them their privacy. Jack was still sleeping in my arms. I hoped to never take for granted what that was like.

After a few minutes, the crying died down and we all sat on the couch and talked. I explained to Jessica what had happened, noticing how Haley flinched when I mentioned Emily. I had gotten a call from the marshal service and everything had been cleared for them to go back to their old lives and identities. It was past midnight when I got up to leave the sisters, giving Jack one last kiss on the cheek before walking up to the door. I told Haley to come to the office at nine to give her statement and then she would be done. I really hoped that Strauss would take it easy on everyone tomorrow, but knew it was ridiculous. Giving Haley and Jessica a hug, I left to go home and try to get some rest before going to the office tomorrow. I wanted so badly to go back to Emily, but I knew that she was safe with Morgan. Foyet couldn't get her either.

Of course I wouldn't be able to breathe better until I saw her myself. I wanted to go, but something told me to wait. I wasn't going to wake her up, so what was I going to do, just stand there and stare at her while she was sleeping? It didn't sound too bad to me, but I didn't know how she would feel about that. I think that it would make Morgan a little paranoid as well. I sighed and continued my way back to my apartment.

/////

"Ma'am, if I may add, I acknowledge that Agent Prentiss' actions were against standard protocol, but she did indeed use proper judgment to find a way to resolve the situation without harm to two civilians. It was an action that any agent on this team, and probably any agent in the bureau would do to keep a mother and her son safe. And to answer you earlier question, no. I did not in _any way whatsoever_ pressure Agent Prentiss to put her own life in danger to protect my family. I was not even aware that she was in the house alone until I heard her in the room with Foyet through the phone. I would _never_ suggest that one of my agents, or anyone for that matter, put themselves in that kind of situation."

The interview with Strauss had started normally, but then she began asking ridiculous questions. As if I would _ever_ intentionally pressure one of my agents into risking their life. Especially not Emily….my Emily. How _dare _she suggest something so…so awful?

I watched Strauss shift in her chair and put her pen to lips, pursing them. I just wanted this to be over as soon as possible so that I could get back to Emily. It was already ten o'clock, and I had been with Strauss for an hour. Emily would be up and getting anxious by now. I was starting to feel that too, and couldn't have gotten out of her office faster when she dismissed me.

On my way out to the hospital, I passed Dave talking to Haley, who was holding Jack. They were laughing. Huh. Letting them carry, I turned the other way and made it to the elevator and down to the parking garage unseen. It took me less than fifteen minutes to get to the hospital.

When I walked up to the room where Emily was last night, I lightly tapped on the door and only had to wait a second before I heard her say to come in.

My face softened when I saw her lying in bed, and a small smile spread across my lips when I looked at her smiling at me.

"Hey Hotch," greeted Morgan, who was still in his chair in the corner of the room, but still relavivly close considering the size. I returned the greeting before turning my attention back to Emily.

"Are you okay? How did it go last night? Do you need anything?" As expected, she rolled her eyes and waved away my commentary.

"I'm fine _mom_ and last night went fine. I'm not in pain at the moment, and don't need any more pain medication. Relax sweetie. It's going to be fine," she reassured me with another smile. I smiled back. She called me sweetie.

"Ok honey if you're sure everything is fine," I said cautiously, sitting down in the chair next to her bed and picking up her hand.

"If you guys are going to 'mushy-gushy' as Garcia would say, then I am out. I need to give Strauss my statement ASAP anyways," Morgan sighed, collecting his go-bag a giving Emily a hug and kiss on the cheek before patting Hotch on the back and walking out after they all exchanged goodbyes. Hotch quickly turned his attention back to the woman lying in the hospital bed.

I started to think of all the possibilities that could have resulted from yesterday, and it was suddenly getting a little harder to breath. I was so close to losing her – I looked down at our hands – losing _this_ forever. Looking back into her dark eyes, I squeezed her hand in mine.

"Hey," I said, my voice thick.

"Hey," she whispered back, a tear rolling down her cheek. We were always had the same thought process. We sat in silence for a few more minutes, just looking at each other, contemplating what _us_ meant.

I didn't know much for sure anymore, which was new for me. All my life, I have been so structured, so meticulous, and my emotions were always in check. I always knew what to do next, always knew the logical solution, and always trusted my mind over my heart. But with Emily…

I don't know what is next. I know what I want to happen next, and I'm pretty sure that that's what she wants as well. I just didn't want to screw this up. Thinking about what my relationship with Haley was like, I didn't want to mess up what Emily and I had right now. Not that I was even sure _what_ that was. Was I her boyfriend? That didn't really seem right, so what are we?

Screw the bureau. We were professionals and wouldn't let a relationship affect our work. If Strauss didn't like it, I would pull some string up top with the director. His son went to preschool with Jack, so hopefully their friendship could give us a bit of leverage. I had already chosen work over love once and didn't want to do it again. Yesterday had shown me that I cannot lose Emily. Ever.

I wanted her forever. I wanted to wake up every morning with Emily in my arms, and have her be mine for the rest of our lives. To pair up with her in the field on every case to make sure that she was safe and with me always. To get married, have children, and grow old together. My eyes started to tear at the realization I had just made into my mind.

Cupping her face in my hand, I looked straight into her eyes. "I love you Emily Prentiss," I whispered, my voice still thick with emotion.

"I love you too Aaron Hotchner," she whispered back softly. I leaned forward until our lips touched again, holding longer than the first time, savoring the feeling of her hands tangling in my hair, and the soft skin of her face underneath my hand. I slightly shifted to get a better angle, and she did the same. I immediately pulled back when I saw her wince.

"Emily! Are you okay? Did I hurt you? I am so sorry sweetheart!" I was horrified with myself! She was in pain because of something I just did! I hurt her…

"Aaron, sweetie, it's okay. Calm down, I'm fine. It was my fault; I shouldn't have turned that way. Don't feel bad, okay? You didn't do this." I opened my mouth to say something, but she cut me off. "And by kissing me you did not cause me any extra pain, so don't delude myself into thinking that either. That was the best I've felt in a long time," she said with a smile, cupping my face in both her hands. I gave her a tight smile back, and she leaned forward slightly to press her lips gently against mine before resting her forehead on mine.

"Are you in any pain? Do you need me to get the doctor?"

"No, no, I'm fine. I've had enough pain medicine in the past twelve hours, and I really don't want anymore."

"Okay if you're sure," I said hesitantly.

"I'm sure," she replied, kissing my lips softly again. I pulled back after a few second, not wanting to get carried away again. I smiled and pushed the hair back out of her face. She was so beautiful. I couldn't believe my luck of ending up with someone as wonderful as Emily Prentiss.

I took a deep breath before telling her what was on my mind. "Emily I love you. And I have for a while, but unfortunantly it took almost loosing you to see that I wouldn't make it if you didn't pull through. Until yesterday I hadn't even realized that I have fallen in love with you and I don't want to be without you for the rest of my life. You have been there for me in every step in my life since you came into it and I want to be there for you, I want to marry you, I want to have a family with you, I want to grow old with you, and I want to love you. Forever."

I watched as tears started falling down her beautiful face, and felt some rising in mine. I did want this. I want her.

"I love you Aaron. I love you so much," Emily barely chocked out before bringing her hands up to cup my face and lower me down into a deep and passionate kiss.

I meant every word of what I said, and I knew she did too. There was no doubt that this was the beginning of our forever.

And for now it was enough.

_A/N~ So that is my last chapter! Hope you guys liked it. Tell me what you think about it! I'm working on another story that will be completely unrelated to this and be more light hearted __. Thank you for all your reviews and support!_


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